Thank you for your help and advice Elwyn, Capt Jock and John Waugh.
I am quite excited that Elwyn and John Waugh believe that the EA site’s Ballyeaston Church records are from the 1st Ballyeaston. It may now be possible to eventually get proof that my circumstantial evidence is correct (or otherwise) and unscramble my Gardner muddle.
Capt Jock,
Ron Coleman’s IGI entries on FamilySearch initially assisted me with my first steps in the search to solve the mystery of my Gardner/McAllister /Elliott family.
I agree that, “You can't ask for anything better than a locally-resident knowledgeable man-power-resource on the ground with access to the records. Win, Win, Win!”
John Waugh
I contacted the Ballyeaston Presbyterian Church, with your help, around July/ Aug 2015 when you responded to my Gardner/McAllister/Elliott family thread on Rootschat’s Antrim board. You also confirmed the baptismal dates of Thomas and Mary McAllister, children of Anne and Robert McAllister at that time. Thanks to you I was also able to purchase the book, “His House on the Hill.....,” later in 2015. I often refer to the 1813 census appendix for research purposes.
I appreciate your offer to look up records for me. Other than IGI possibilities, I have no knowledge of the marriages/deaths of the Upper Glenwhirry family of Thomas and Ann Gardner themselves or children, apart from the daughter I believe to be the Ann/e who, in 1828, married Robert McAllister (possibly son of William McAlister of Ballyboley). I would be especially grateful to learn of the exact date/parents/ witnesses in their 1828 marriage record, and the death details/date c1834 of Robert McAllister. Any other BMDs of Ann and Robert’s parents/ siblings you came across would be a bonus, but only if you ever have the time and records are quickly and easily found. I am a direct descendant of Anne and Robert McAllister. My research is based on a lot of circumstantial evidence and I would love to prove, or disprove, that I am following the correct branch.
Kind regards,
KiwiRose.